Arakkis Redux

Paul Aetrides is no saint. Dune is amoral. There are no god people. The Harkonnen and the Bene Gesserit and the Aetrides are all related. The Fremen are the ones that are fair game for all colonizers. Dune Part Two is s much of realpolitik and unlike the first edition - where there is some cause for empathy with Paul and his mother as refugees - the cynicism of Frank Herbert is in full flow herein. Visceral and real. And great action sequences in IMax

15.5/20

Ferocity (Hindi)

Animal (Hindi) blew my mind, not because of the level of violence (given Manga and Tarantino we have seen worse) but the attempt at opening up a raw genre of Punjabi gangster-Industrialist movie that shows raw use and abuse of power. Rannvijay (Ranbir Kapoor) channels his inner animal into gratuitous violence - the raison d etre being an unfulfilled "daddy issue" - trying to win his father's affection - but who knows...? Estrangement, an ambiguous moral code, an easy descent into violence, even against one's wife (Geetanjali) and manipulation (Zoya). An unusually unique attempt by Sandeep Reddy Vanga to bring out the best and the worst in a man - you will relate to Rannvijay, occasionally gasp at his behavior, maybe even want to reach out and help... he is an unstoppable force and the only thing that ties him down however frugally are his father and his children

16/20

Memories.. Brilliance

Seldom has a movie left me so emotional. I expected inspiration but not a string of setbacks. Suspended father, mother and sister in menial labour, penniless in Gwalior and Delhi, estranged by friends, 15h menial labour a day, heartbreak. And a few friends that salute his grit. Salute to all the 12th Fail and to all the real life Manoj Kumar Pandeys. I would like to make this movie required viewing for a life of (or at least starting off on a life of) principles. 

This brought back so many memories and I just thought - where did the struggle stop? Why did I stop in the 20s. What about forties and fifties. Find motivation and

inspiration.. keep going

18/20

Cyrus in the bag

For your weekend steppe Mongol (actually Saka) barbarian fix. This is an actual Kazakh movie. Much war and intrigue and the central character (Tomiris) is a female warrior queen who actually bagged Cyrus the Great - ie stopped the Persian advance into the Steppes circa 500 BC by decapitating him and putting his head in a bag (this is historically accurate). This is Game of Thrones pre-Ghengniz edition. On Amazon Prime 

16.5/20

All is Fair

It begins as a clandestine romance between Emily (Phoebe Dynevor) and Luke (Alden Ehlenreich), analyst colleagues at hedge fund One Crest Capital. But while Emily is destined for greater things - a promotion just post engagement - Luke gets no such breakthrough, and what was a passionate relationship becomes a cesspool of toxicity - suspicion, playing the game, incessant screaming - culminating in some memorable scenes at office and at an engagement party. Fair Play is the intensity of the TV Series Industry with some great emoting by Emily.. and will leave you shredded and torn 

16.5/20

Creating a Better World

It is a year post an apocalypse - Nomad led by the US fights the Nirmata of the AI led New Asia. In fight sequences that are reminiscent of US overreach in Vietnam the American soldier Joshua (John David Washington) finds himself with his loyalties entirely subsumed by simulant wife Maya (Gemma Chan) and Alphie (Madeleine Yuna Voyles). In a movie that takes on the best of Dust, Chappie, District 9 and the likes of Terminator, The Creator is bit of an unsung hero among post apocalyptic thrillers. While I'll desist from calling it a must watch, if you have spent time on Oppenheimer this year this is a better use of your time

 

15.5/20

Hunger isn't about Food

Hunger means drive, and it also describes a relentless chef - Chef Paul - and his protege - Aoy . It is the drive to succeed, to change life's circumstance itself. It is least of all about the hunger for food - only the poor eat to satiate their hunger, the rest aspire, and that's really the hunger. This is the politics of the den of a master chef and the battles of Aoi to work out of her own circumstance

15/20